Two platforms have limited withdrawals due to the collapse in the price of bitcoin

The collapse of the cryptocurrency market has caused Argentine investors a lot of nervousness. The most feared ghosts have re-emerged on this Black Monday with great clarity. On the one hand, the most popular of all, bitcoin, fell 16% in one day and nearly 28% in the last week to settle below US $ 23,000, the lowest level in the last 18 months. On the other, two well-known platforms, Celsius Network and Binance have limited withdrawals due to technical issuescruel images that refer to the corralito of 2001.

The current scenario is one of total uncertainty and disconcerting. The price of bitcoin accumulates a decline of 46% over the year and 65% from all-time highs which it reached last November, when it hit $ 69,000. As is often the case, the hikes attract new savers into the system and drive them away into the falls. In fact the index was created “Ambition and panic”which reflects the emotional state of depositors.

The brutal collapse of bitcoin accompanies the fall of the financial markets for fear of an inflationary outbreak in the world. However, the credibility of cryptocurrencies took a hit weeks ago, with the collapse of Terra Luna, a stable currency That promise of 1 to 1 parity with the dollar. All disturbing news for those who have sought refuge in cryptocurrencies.

“50% of new users in the country have entered in the last two years and some people are very nervous about price volatility”Describes Manuel Beaudroit, founder and CEO of the Belo app. He points out that the behavior of “those who have been around for a long time generally don’t complain because he knows the price can go up again.”

In addition to Belo, several platforms and mobile applications compete in the local market, including Ripio, Satoshi Tango, Buenbit, the Mexican Bitso, Bitex and Lemon Cash. They are all exponents of startups dedicated to the purchase, sale and storage of bitcoin and ethereum, for example. The average investment, coincide in the sector, ranges from $ 25,000 to $ 50,000 “. In Belo it’s about US $ 200, ”Beaudroit admits.

“The site had a lot of transaction volume this Monday. There are a lot of people scared and that’s why bullfighting takes place ”, explains Matías Bari, of Satoshi Tango. The executive says he receives phone calls from his clients and that he explains to everyone that “it is a downward movement, a major correction that is also occurring in other financial markets”.

Sebastián Serrano, CEO and founder of Ripio, said that the fall in cryptocurrencies is taking place in a general “horrible” context. However, he assures that on his platform (the main one in the country) the volume of operations increases and “in general, it is the people who buy”. For this reason, “I think the price is reaching its minimum.”

The cryptocurrency shakeout was amplified by withdrawal restrictions from Binance and Celsius Network. The latter is one of the largest cryptocurrency lending platforms in the world and operates some of them US $ 12.00 million in assets from its clients, according to the Financial Times. On Sunday, he announced that he would be suspending all withdrawals and transfers between accounts due to “extreme market conditions,” the company said on its official blog.

Binance is global and operates in Argentina. The company reported that it was restricting bitcoin withdrawals due to technical issues. “A previous batch of transactions stalled due to the low transaction fees sent and thus resulted in a backlog of withdrawals on the network,” they explained on Twitter.

The data has once again reopened the debate on the nature of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. More than 100 countries are already studying new regulations on an operation that escapes the controls of monetary and fiscal authorities.

Last month the Central Bank prevented two local authorities (Galicia and Brubank) from offering cryptocurrencies to their customers “The cryptocurrency market is bearish but does not escape the general trend of other financial assets”, interprets Gustavo Neffa, research analyst for Merchants. He says it’s all part of the end of the central bank’s expansionary cycle and the “end of easy money”.